What happens when the recipe calls for a knowledge of military history, a collection of military equipment, horses, cannons and a wife who understands, driven by a desire to communicate that love of history to an interested public? The ability to offer an audience the opportunity to see, touch and feel history is very rewarding. This book tells the story of one young man’s growth in learning about US Military History, its evolution into his marriage, and adding horse ownership to the mix. It essentially is a 37-year odyssey, that has been wrought with mistakes and learning. This experience is worthwhile when experiencing an inner satisfaction gained when a kid smiles! Much of this satisfaction is also gleaned when experiencing this with my life partner, my wife. It is also fulfilling when you look back and realize the many friends met along the way, both human and equine. Joyce and I met in 1975, married in 1978, went to our first Army assignment in 1979 and bought our first horse in 1980. Flirt, a five-day old Morgan mare started our adventure. Six months later, an assignment to Korea resulted in leaving Flirt with the original owners for that year. Upon our reassignment to Fort Bragg, North Carolina we went and retrieved her. Our friends that had kept her Gerry and Carol Meuiner of Taneytown, Maryland, sold us our second horse, Shadow, another Morgan mare. Once settled, I rekindled my interest in History. In concert with several of my soldiers, we did a Black History Month program focused on the Buffalo Soldiers. The program was a huge success. We moved from Fort Bragg to Fort Sam Houston, Texas for six months and then on to Fort Hood, Texas, horses in tow. We continued to ride and train them. We had our first daughter, Leah, there. From Texas, we were off to Germany for 3 years and our mares went to a farm in North Carolina. We had our second daughter, Lindsey, in Germany. When we returned to the US, we had the horses shipped to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to join us. It was neat to keep the horses in original Cavalry stables. After a year, we were off to the National Capitol Region and our horses stayed behind at Fort Leavenworth until we could determine the demands of our new jobs and appropriate boarding. We located a stable near our home and had Flirt and Shadow shipped to Virginia a year later. Joyce and I had a heart to heart talk about the continued ownership of horses as our two had been with other folks more than us. I decided to check into Civil War Reenacting. I found the 26th North Carolina Troops and joined as the Assistant Surgeon. Our first event was the 130th Gettysburg in 1993. I have two memories - it was over 100 degrees each day and I asked one of the unit leaders, “why are there no horse drawn guns?” He looked at me and smiled saying, “You don’t know the cost.” Little did I know how true that statement was. I continued to reenact and began to research the possibility of doing a horse drawn gun. I looked at the cost, how many horses needed and other issues with doing this impression. I met Charlie Tarbox, who owned Battlefield Bed and Breakfast on the south part of the Gettysburg battlefield, and had a team and a cannon. He became a real mentor through the formative years. I had figured the cost and briefed the 26th leadership and they agreed to support me. We borrowed Charlie’s gun for Appomattox. I met two co-conspirators and we were started. Since both girls were now riding, I went back to the Mueniers and began acquiring more horses. A $10,00.00 donation helped us buy a set of harness and one limber, I got the second limber at the same time. Through many trials and tribulations, we fielded one gun in the 1997/98 time frame and a second gun by 1999. We had the support and we really enjoyed what a section (2 guns) could do on the field. Joyce and I moved back to Fort Bragg and continued to enjoy the hobby as did our whole family. By 2003, we expanded our interests. When Pamplin Park in Petersburg, Virginia, invited us, we came with our Civil War impression, as well as, a strong late Indian War and Spanish American War impressions. Several of my soldiers at Fort Bragg rekindled the Buffalo Soldiers impression and joined us in the field. A couple of guys were interested in WWII and a few in WW1 so our program continued to grow. By 2005, we provided a military timeline at Pamplin Park, Bennett Place State Park in Durham, North Carolina for their Memorial Day Program and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park’s Salute to the American Soldier Program in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2012, we bought a 1943 Ford GPW jeep, and then a 1941 Willys Jeep. We were heavily involved in the 150th Anniversaries of the Civil War 2011 thru 2015. The Manassas Event, in 2011, was the last event we could field two horse drawn teams. We had lost several men and horses over the years. I became the Chief of Horse Drawn Artillery for the Federal Artillery Reserve and we had 4 teams for the 150th Gettysburg in 2013. After a year of planning for the 150th Surrender of General Lee at Appomattox, I commanded the Confederate Artillery during the surrenders. We had 8 teams of horses and mules and surrendered 6 guns, 5 caissons, a battery wagon and a battery forge, all the components of a Civil War Battery. After the event, I flew to San Diego, California and bought a newly restored 1942 White Scout Car, one of the key components in the US Army mechanization in 1941. My passion is history and sharing my knowledge. A smile on a kid’s face make all this worthwhile.